La Media Vuelta
by Yingfa
Summary: Max isn't the only one that has talked to someone in the Delgado family about songs. Michael watches Maria as she leaves.


Disclaimer: I don't own Roswell, and I'm not making any profit from this story. The song is called "La media vuelta" and is sung by Mexican singer Luis Miguel. I translated it, so those of you that don't speak Spanish would understand.

**La Media Vuelta**

_Te vas porque yo quiero que te vayas_

_(You leave, because I want you to)_

He watched her.

He always had, as far back as he could remember. Her energy had always been infectious, had always attracted him, in a forbidden fruit kind of way.

Happy, life-full, exuberant, passionate. Those were the words that would of come of the top of his head, back then.

_A la hora que yo quiera te detengo_

_(I can stop you anytime I want)_

Now, love was the first one that came to mind. His first love. . . one that he knew he'd never forget. . . one that he could never give up on, no matter what he said or how hard he tried. No matter how much land she put between them.

_Yo se que mi cariño te hace falta_

_(I know you need my love)_

She was leaving now, he could see the taxi driver stowing her bags in the trunk. Stealing away like a thief in the night, without a single world, without a simple goodbye. She'd probably told her mother some bullshit about not being able to face him, if Amy's expression was anything to go by. Ms. Deluca had come to like him, the hard way, and the fact that she was giving Maria hell about him proved it. I warmed his heart too, to see it. So few people cared if he lived or died, seeing that care before his eyes was almost painful.

_Por que quieras o no, yo soy tu dueño_

_(Because, believe it or not, I own you)_

Maria was hurting, he could tell. She loved him, he knew, but even so she couldn't stay. . . and he wouldn't let her do so, either. This had been her dream for so long, she deserved to try. He knew, deep in his heart, that no matter how far away she was, he'd always own her heart.

_Yo quiero que te vayas por el mundo_

_(I want you to wander the world)_

Max had once tried to explain his feelings for Liz, and Michael had just stared at him like he was crazy. Now, he could feel his eyes watering as he stayed in the shadows and watched the woman that owned his heart leave him behind.

Still, a job singing in New York. . . she had to try.

_Y quiero que conozcas mucha gente_

_(And I want you to meet a lot of people)_

It was impossible to hope that she wouldn't meet another. Impossible to hope that his very memory would keep her tied to him. He wasn't that selfish, nor could he be that cold. Stonewall Guerin had finally found someone that could crack his barriers, someone that had actually liked what lay behind. Her warmth, her kindness. . . if she could help someone else like she had helped him, he wouldn't, couldn't, keep her from doing so.

_Yo quiero que te besen otros labios_

_(I want you to be kissed by other lips)_

And if she met someone that she could love, the way he hoped she would always only love him, then he wouldn't stop her from giving it a try. She deserved that, to search for happiness, no matter how far away the search took her. . . no matter how much it would hurt to see her go. . .

_Para que me compares, hoy como siempre_

_(So you can compare me, now like always)_

He was her first love, too. She'd told him so, and he believed it. He just hoped, that in that case, the memories he had left her with wouldn't be bittersweet.

_Si encuentras un amor que te comprenda_

_(If you find a love that understands you)_

As Maria turned for a final hug from her mother, he raised his hand as if reaching for her. He wanted to be beside her, to get a chance to hug her goodbye and tell her all he had kept from her within his heart.

_Y sientas que te quiere más que nadie_

_(And you feel he loves you more than anyone)_

He felt her presence, then. Just a few steps away, she kept to the same shadows as he and watched her best friend leave, calm acceptance and heartfelt pain glowing in her eyes.

He was pretty sure his own looked the same.

_Entonces yo daré la media vuelta_

_(Then I will turn around)_

"She knows."

_Y me iré con el sol, cuando muera la tarde_

_(And I will leave with the sun, once the evening dies)_

Liz simply looked at him, as if expecting him to deny it. He wanted to ask her what she meant, but the knowledge in her expression stopped him.

_Entonces yo daré la media vuelta_

_(Then I will turn around)_

"She knows how much you love her. She knows you know she's leaving. She also knows that you love her enough to let her go."

_Y me iré con el sol, cuando muera la tarde_

_(And I will leave with the sun, once the evening dies)_

"Did she send you?"

_Yo quiero que te vayas por el mundo_

_(I want you to wander the world)_

"She didn't have to, because she knows me just as well as I know her. She didn't even tell me when she was leaving. Nor did she have to say goodbye. This was something we all knew was coming, Michael. Childhood is over, for all of us. Believe it or not, we are ready to face what will come. We just have to find our own paths to tread. Maria has found hers, and in doing so has given you the chance to find your own."

_Y quiero que conozcas mucha gente_

_(And I want you to meet a lot of people)_

She stepped up to him and, shoulder to shoulder, they watched as Maria entered the cab.

_Yo quiero que te besen otros labios_

_(I want you to be kissed by other lips)_

"She won't think you didn't fight for her, nor will she ever think that you don't love her. She knows better. But she also knows that, with all that's happened, we all need to take a step back. We need to figure out whom and what we are now, before any of us can finally begin to move forward again."

_Para que me compares, hoy como siempre_

_(So you can compare me, now like always)_

"She would have asked you to go with her, but. . . just as you are letting her go so that she can give her dream a try, she also wants you to take your own advice. She wants you to find your own place, not as her boyfriend, or as Max and Isabel's brother, but simply as Michael."

_Si encuentras un amor que te comprenda_

_(If you find a love that understands you)_

"And if you change your mind about anything, even your feelings for her, she wants you to know that she's willing to let you go, not because she won't be hurt, but because she loves you that much and she's willing to see you happy, even if it's no with her."

_Y sientas que te quiere más que nadie_

_(And you feel he loves you more than anyone)_

Liz suddenly cocked her head, and smiled.

"Can you hear that? The song? Mariana, Mr. Delgado's niece, was listening to it the other day. She told me it's about a man letting the woman he loves go, letting her see the world and telling her that he will always be there for her, whenever she needs him, that he will only leave her if she asks him to and if she has already found someone that will care for her as much as he does."

_Entonces yo daré la media vuelta_

_(Then I will turn around)_

He listened to the soft sound of the guitars as Maria's cab sped away. He couldn't help thinking about how much the song reflected his mood. It was like someone had ripped the words from his heart and given them wings. For a moment he wished he had paid more attention in Spanish class, but then dismissed the thought.

_Y me iré con el sol, cuando muera la tarde_

_(And I will leave with the sun, once the evening dies)_

Liz grabbed his hand, and began dragging him towards Main Street. As they reached the corner, he turned back to look the way the cab had gone and found himself eye to eye with Maria's mother. Amy simply looked at him, pity and pride warring in her eyes. Pride, it seemed, won the battle, because the older woman nodded at him and smiled.

_Entonces yo daré la media vuelta_

_(Then I will turn around)_

Michael found himself smiling back. No matter how much it hurt to see Maria go, they both knew that it had to be this way. He turned to look at Liz, and found her looking back at him, the same acceptance in her eyes. There was something else there: friendship. Despite the pain, his smile deepened a bit. Maria might have left him behind so that he could find his path, but she had also left him to relentless guides to help him do so.

_Y me iré con el sol, cuando muera la tarde_

_(And I will leave with the sun, once the evening dies)_

He would do this for her, and for himself. And when their paths crossed again, as he was sure they would, he hoped he could finally stand before her, his arms and heart opened wide, to welcome her back into his life.

_Te vas porque yo quiero que te vayas_

_(You leave, because I want you to)_


End file.
